Sunday, 25 August 2013

6 Lies of Film Distribution

Jerome Courshon is an award-winning writer/producer, whose first movie was the critically acclaimed indie God, Sex & Apple Pie, released by Warner Bros. His challenging journey to get to the proverbial finish line was profiled in the Los Angeles Times and documented on several major film sites. After acquiring enormous experience and knowledge from playing "the game" of getting distribution for his own movie, he began assisting colleagues on their movies—with some of them achieving distribution in as little as four months by applying his information.
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One of the major Achilles’ heels for film producers and directors is the distribution game. Once you’ve made your movie, what do you do? How do you play the game? What strategies do you employ? Is there even a strategy?

Well, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is there are indeed strategies to use and employ. The bad news is that most
filmmakers don’t know what they are, and flounder around trying to figure them out. What’s even worse is too many filmmakers throwing in the towel and just dumping their film online, hoping it “hits” somehow.

In this article, I’m going to debunk some prevalent lies (or “myths”) about achieving distribution. This will give you some insight into the game, should you be looking for distribution now or preparing for your production.

Myth #1: I’m a director, a filmmaker, a creative person. Telling stories is my thing and if I make a good movie, I don’t have to worry about the business stuff or the marketing because someone else will do that.

Truth #1:
There are of course some people who get lucky and either have a producing partner who does all the business & marketing (and is good at it), or they have the money to hire the right people to do
everything.

However for most this isn’t the case, especially if
one’s film career is in the early stages. You need to become a
businessperson once your movie or documentary is done. At least until
it’s sold (or until you’re done selling if you’re DIY’ing it).

Why?

Because
distribution is business, and distributors don’t care if you’ve made
the greatest indie film/art film/documentary of the past 20 years. What
they care about is if it will make them money. (And your audience,
if you’re DIY’ing your film, needs to believe they’ll be sufficiently
entertained and/or enlightened before they’ll buy a DVD or pay to watch
it online.) The more you can become a “salesperson” and marketing maven, the more success you will have on your quest for distribution or sales.

Yes,
I know this part isn’t nearly as sexy and fun as making movies and can
be downright boring at times. But what Orson Welles famously said about
the film business is still true today: “It's about 2% moviemaking and
98% hustling.”

Myth #2: Distributors are calling me and
they’re excited to see my movie! I’ll send it to them and if they like
it, they’ll acquire it!

Truth #2: All
major distributors track the movies that have been listed in the trades
under their production columns. If you were in those columns, you’re
going to be phoned. Do not send them a rough cut. Do notsend them a final cut. Donotsend them the movie. If you do, you will not get a theatrical distribution deal, if this is what you are aiming for.

You must “unveil” your movie in the right place at the right time, such as atop film festival, to get the theatrical buyers to really
want your feature. Movies do not get picked up for theatrical releases
that have been sent on a DVD to a distributor. So when they call asking
to see a screener, you’ll say “It’s not ready, but I appreciate your
call. Check back with me in a month or two.” (And you’ll do this every time they call, until you’re ready for the grand unveiling.)

Myth #3: My movie was selected for the Sundance Film Festival! Woohooo! All I have to do is show up and I will get a deal!

Truth #3: Okay,
you won the lottery and got a slot at one of the top three film
festivals (Sundance, Toronto, Cannes) for your movie premiere. Guess
what? Your work hasn’t even begun yet. You now must assemble a team of
people: a PR firm, an agent from one of the top agencies in Los
Angeles, an attorney, and possibly a producer’s rep. (But beware…most
producer’s reps are useless.)

You will have to work, strategize
and position your movie, before it premieres, as a very desirable movie
that distributors must have. You have one shot at the top festivals for a
theatrical deal, so don’t piss it away. Unfortunately, most filmmakers
don’t know or understand this. They get a slot at Sundance or Toronto,
don’t assemble a team or promote their film properly, and then come away
without a deal and are entirely lost as to their next step.

Myth
#4: I was rejected by the top festivals, so now I’m submitting and
getting accepted by the next tier of festivals. This is cool. All I have
to do is show up to my screenings and I’m treated like a rock star.
Distribution, here I come!

Truth #4: Yeah, okay, if this is you, at least you’re having fun. But you’re not going to get distribution this way. There is a real
purpose to the festival circuit beyond the top festivals that most
people, even Hollywood veterans, simply do not understand. The obvious
purpose is, of course, exposure. But there is actually a MORE important
purpose: Building a Pedigree.

What is a Pedigree?

It is an
accumulation of press coverage, interviews, quotes from critics, and
awards if you can get them, which says you have a winning movie on your
hands. Once you methodically build this pedigree, which takes some work
on the festival circuit, you are then ready to parlay this into a
distribution deal (or healthy sales). It’s a simple concept that most do
not grasp; yet it isextremely powerful and effective
for independent films that don’t get into the top festivals. There is
real psychology involved in the “art” of selling a movie or documentary.
Ignore at your own risk. However, if you learn this “art,” you will
have success.

Myth #5: I’ve submitted my movie to the 15
home video companies out there. I’ve even talked to producer friends and
looked at industry reference books for whom to submit to. If these 15
companies say ‘No,’ I’m out of luck for a home video deal.

Truth #5: This
truth right here may be worth serious dollars to you. There are
literally over 100 home video companies in the marketplace, all
operating under their own labels. On top of that are additional
companies that pick up movies and programming that have output deals
with these distributors. So if you think you’ve exhausted your search
for a home video deal and have only contacted a handful of companies,
you’ve simply just begun.

And don’t buy the occasional diatribe
out there that DVD is dead. It’s not. It is still the largest revenue
generating segment of the entire film industry. Last year alone, it
generated $16-17 billion in revenues. That’s billion with a ‘B.’

Myth
#6: I’m going to bypass traditional distribution altogether, sell my
movie on the internet myself and make a ton of money from DVD sales and
digital streaming (VOD).

Truth #6: Not
likely. For every 5000 movies being made every year, there are less than
20 who make serious money this way. WHY? It’s hard work. It takes time
(a lot of it), it takes specific strategies, and you become the de facto
distributor for a good year, if not longer. Which isn’t an exciting
proposition for most filmmakers, who’ve already been on a lengthy and
arduous journey of making their film.

However, some who go this route do it very
successfully. They’re either great at marketing already, or great
learners. And they’re very committed to achieving success, so they
really do what it takes to win. Also, the budget of your movie can
dictate if this route is viable for you. If you’ve made a $10,000 movie,
it’s not that difficult to recoup this amount, with some decent work.
But if your budget was $1 million, good luck making your money back
using only the internet. You’ll either need traditional distribution, or
a hybrid approach of both traditional and non-traditional.

So these are a few of the popular and misleading myths out there, and the truth about them. With 5000 (or more) movies being made every single year, that’s a lot of producers and directors working with often erroneous information. Not to mention an overwhelming number of movies vying for a limited number of distribution slots. These two factors combined can make for a daunting journey filled with frustration and failure.

The silver lining however, is that with the right
knowledge, coupled with dedicated and diligent work, anyone with a decent film can achieve success. Anyone. But it does take the right knowledge. You do not have to have star names in your movie to get a deal or have success, and your movie does not have to be phenomenal. If it’s at least decent, you do have a real shot.

2 comments:

I am so glad you put this sort of information up, Henry. Simple ABC stuff which directors I think ignore at first because they are so convinced that people will see their movie, love their movie, and buy their movie. Then when that doesn't happen, they don't have a plan.